Ad Disclosure
Ohio State AD Gene Smith squashes hope of Buckeyes playing in fall
Published:
Not long after Ohio State head coach Ryan Day suggested that the Buckeyes are still exploring options to potentially play football games in the fall, athletic director Gene Smith says that’s no longer the case.
Smith cleared things up while speaking with the media on Wednesday, saying the school is no longer looking at playing any football in the fall. Instead, it will focus its attention on playing a spring schedule, assuming it’s feasible.
“There’s not a fall option,” Smith told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. “We had hoped and just realized that not too long ago. We’re all about the spring and how do we set that up.”
Day already offered his pitch to the league on Wednesday, suggesting that a spring schedule consist of eight games with a season starting the first week of January. He believes that offers players enough time to recuperate for the fall 2021 season.
Smith says that, now that the B1G is focused on playing football in the spring, it’s a real possibility.
“We just embraced the spring. I think it’s realistic,” Smith said. “We hadn’t spent any time on it. None. Now that we are, it becomes clear that it’s realistic.”
Day suggested that Ohio State desperately needed to play this spring in order to keep up in recruiting. If the Buckeyes aren’t on the field, and the remaining Power 5 conferences — Big 12, ACC, SEC — do play a fall schedule, they’ll fall behind in that department.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB